1.6 Environment
Observations
Over time, greenhouse gas emissions have generally been declining. Notable decreases have come from the end users: business, residential and waste management. Since 2016, the transport sector has overtaken the business sector to be the biggest end user.
The source of the reduction was mainly caused by the decrease in power station emissions due to the change in the fuel mix for electricity generation, in particular a reduction in the use of coal, and a decrease in the use of natural gas for heating residential properties.
Indicator 1.6.1 – Greenhouse gas emissions
The basket of greenhouse gases covered by these statistics is: carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, sulphur hexafluoride and nitrogen trifluoride. In accordance with international reporting and carbon trading protocols, each of these gases is weighted by its global warming potential (GWP), so that total greenhouse gas emissions can be reported on a consistent basis (in carbon dioxide equivalent units).
The GWP for each gas is defined as its warming influence relative to that of carbon dioxide. The greenhouse gas emissions are allocated into a small number of broad, high level sectors as follows: energy supply, business, transport, public, residential, agriculture, industrial processes, land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF), and waste management.
Metric 1.6.1a — Estimated emissions of Greenhouse Gases by end-user category, UK, 1990 - 2017 (Million tonnes carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e))
Source: BEIS